It’s street-legal, too.
The eighth-generation Chevrolet Corvette debuted in 2019. It was untunable due its locked ECU. Despite this, Emelia Hartford, a YouTuber, has persevered. She has the fastest street-legal mid engine street-legal ‘Vette, barring an unknown C8 owner who is doing it while she avoids the spotlight.
What speed are we talking at? With Hartford behind the wheel, the Phoenix was appropriately named and headed to Famoso Raceway, Bakersfield, California. The goal was to beat the 9.95 second time set by Extreme Turbo Systems in a boosted C8. The day began with a pass in the mid-10 seconds, and she drove her C8 on street tunes that burned pump gas. The runs remained in the low to mid 10-second range despite having more power. The ‘Vette switched to methanol race fuel. However, it was producing 1,000 horsepower. Wheelspin was an issue in both the first as well as the second gears.
Hartford ran 9.98 after a cooling down break and a track re-prep. The new record was set at 9.90 the next time she ran it. She felt like the car had more to offer, so she continued tuning and stepped. Way Up with a 9.47 based on 11 pounds of turbocharger boost. Track officials gave her the “advice” that she call it a day before the car was broken. True racer fashion, she ignored all the advice and ran 9.41 seconds at 144.84mph with a remarkable 1.41 60-foot time. The Phoenix is indeed an extremely fast car.
Why is it called Phoenix When Hartford’s boosted’Vette suffered major engine problems, we reported on Hartford’s C8 adventures. With a goal to handle up to 1,200 horsepower, the mill was rebuilt. To address the locked ECU issue the car has a separate Holley ECU that manages fuel, timing, boost and other parameters. The orange-trimmed C8 has been reborn with a new engine. This video is from the drag strip and shows its first evaluation.
It was a huge success, we would say.